News Release
Rep. Duran Comments on House Republicans’ School Safety Agenda
St. Paul – Earlier today, Representative Bidal Duran (R-Bemidji) joined his Republican colleagues in outlining their school safety agenda that prioritizes protecting students, strengthening mental health resources, and holding violent offenders accountable.
“If we are serious about keeping families safe, we need to present real, workable solutions. That means tackling untreated mental illness, strengthening school security, and holding repeat offenders accountable,” Duran said. “House Republicans have a slate of proposals to do just that.”
Provisions House Republicans will pursue include:
- Expanding school safety funding to non-public schools (Democrats ignored pleas from the Minnesota Catholic Conference in 2023 to make non-public schools eligible for security funding allocated to public schools)
- School security grants
- Flexibility for school funding streams to be used for safety improvements
- Making School Resource Officers available to every school
- Repeal or amend the Democrats' prohibition on doctors using their best medical judgment, instead of leaving their hands tied with political decisions made by the Democrat trifecta
- Boost funding for mental health treatment beds
- Mandatory minimum prison sentences for repeat gun criminals and for straw purchasers who enable a violent crime
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